First, welcome to BlogBaud! I’m super excited about the fact that we got this kick-started. A few of us here at ole BB have been dying to do this for a while now. Kudos to Chad Norman for doing it the old fashioned way — do it first, then ask if it’s ok after you have built something too cool to deny Every year at our conferences I get a shot of adrenaline when I get to interact with so many of our customers, so maybe we’ll get a community going here that will perpetuate that feeling year round. Now what’s with the title to this post?

On New Year’s Day the Sullivan family made our annual journey to Sullivan’s Island (no relation!) for the Polar Bear swim. It’s an amazing event where literally thousands of people dressed in a bizarre array of “bathing attire” take a running plunge into the Atlantic at exactly 2 PM. The swim takes place on a stretch of beach behind Dunleavy’s Pub, the event’s organizer since its inception 14 years ago. The whole thing can simply be described as surreal. They have a great saying, “freezin’ for a reason” which refers to the fact that the whole event is focused on supporting charity. I’ve got a really good friend whose sister has Down Syndrome and I know this day warms his heart, so we do it together, along with an ever-increasing number of our sons (we have 3 each). My 9 year old, Sammy did it this year, proclaiming “that wasn’t so bad.”

The vibe of the whole event is awesome, with an awareness and camaraderie born from the fact that we all know we are doing something to help someone else. What a great way to start the year.

Now I probably should come clean. This year a real polar bear would not have survived the conditions. The air temperature…67. The water temperature…a balmy 60. It is South Carolina after all. However, knowing how much it means to my friend and his family, coupled with the sheer spectacle of the event, I know I’d do it no matter what the conditions are.

Happy New Year. We’ll “dive” into something technical next time…